Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Naver Q1 net income soars 1,171.9% on growth of major businesses
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Assembly panel criticizes Japan over Kono Statement review
The National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee on Monday blasted Japan for suggesting the Kono Statement ― a 1993 apology by Japan admitting to Tokyo’s sexual enslavement of thousands of women during World War II ― was a result of a diplomatic bargain between Seoul and Tokyo.The Foreign Affairs & Unification Committee passed a resolution earlier in the day to “sternly warn” that Japan’s “attempts to deny the (existence of comfort women) must be stopped.” The resolution was passed in the prese
June 30, 2014
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Park vows to improve vetting of personnel
President Park Geun-hye said Monday that she will cultivate a quality talent pool so that she can have qualified candidates for vacant high-ranking posts in the aftermath of repeated nomination failures. “A pool of talented individuals will be created as well as carrying out verification of the candidates’ qualities beforehand in order to have the necessary personnel in the right position (at any time),” she said in a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae.“As announced, we will have a
June 30, 2014
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Park voices deep sympathy to families of shooting spree victims
President Park Geun-hye expressed condolences Monday to the families of the victims of a recent deadly shooting rampage in a military unit near the tense border with North Korea.Park called on the military to thoroughly determine the cause of the rampage and come up with measures to ensure that a similar incident does not recur."I convey my deep sympathy to the victims' families," Park said in a meeting with senior presidential secretaries. She also apologized to the worried parents whose sons a
June 30, 2014
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[Herald Interview] Time to understand the pain of others: Chun
Opposition lawmaker Chun Soon-ok remembers her brother Chun Tae-il, a legendary labor activist, as the funniest man in the world. Her eldest brother, six years her senior, had a great sense of humor. He sometimes danced like a fool in front of the family, if anything to make them forget their hardships and hunger just for a moment. But Rep. Chun, as a little girl, never had imagined that her brother would burn himself to death to protest the abuse of factory laborers. Or that they would never ha
June 29, 2014
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Parliamentary committees enter political minefield
The parliamentary committees have been normalized after weeks of political wrangling, but sensitive issues they have to deal with in the coming weeks could delay meaningful progress in their work. The House Steering Committee, headed by Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Lee Wan-koo, is facing the particularly sensitive issue of discussing the so-called “National Assembly Advancement Act,” in the coming months.The term refers to a series of revisions made to the National Assembly Act to prevent phy
June 29, 2014
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Gov't to launch basic pension program for senior citizens
The government will launch a new basic pension program from July that aims to give monthly cash support to 70 percent of senior citizens in the country, officials said Sunday.The pension plan was one of the key campaign pledges made by President Park Geun-hye in the 2012 campaign. She originally pledged to give 200,000 won ($197) to everyone over 65, but the government offered a compromise plan to support only those in the lower 70 percent income bracket, citing budgetary constraints.The program
June 29, 2014
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Defense chief nominee vows early establishment of missile defense system
President Park Geun-hye's nominee for defense minister pledged Sunday to establish the country's indigenous missile defense system at an early date to counter escalating threats from North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles.South Korea has been speeding up the establishment of the indigenous Korea Air and Missile Defense aimed at low-flying missiles coming from North Korea. A pre-emptive missile destruction system, the so-called Kill Chain, is also under development to detect and strike North K
June 29, 2014
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Lawmakers to adopt resolution to condemn Japan's review of sex-slave apology
A special parliamentary committee on Northeast Asian history said Friday it plans to adopt a resolution next week to denounce Japan for reviewing its 1993 key statement admitting to its wartime sexual enslavement of women.At a closed-door meeting, members of the committee agreed that Japan's review of the Kono statement was seen as being aimed at undermining the credibility of its own apology.A panel of experts appointed by the Japanese government said last Friday that Seoul and Tokyo officials
June 27, 2014
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Trilateral committee agrees to raise minimum wage for 2015
A trilateral committee of government, labor and management representatives agreed Friday to raise the country's minimum hourly wage by about 7.1 percent to 5,580 won (US$5.50) per hour for next year, officials said.The Minimum Wage Council reached the deal after an intensive overnight discussion on compromise plans, marking the first time in six years that a minimum wage has been set within a legal deadline.The hourly wage translates to 44,640 won a day for those who work eight hours a day and 1
June 27, 2014
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Park retains incumbent P.M.
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday said she would retain incumbent Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, after a series of nomination debacles that dealt a heavy blow to her leadership.“President Park has turned down Prime Minister Chung Hong-won’s offer to resign and asked him to continue to serve as Prime Minister,” said senior press secretary Yoon Doo-hyun. Chung offered to resign in late April, holding himself responsible for the ferry disaster that killed some 300 people. Park accepted his resign
June 26, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Chung faces daunting reform task
Ten days after the Sewol ferry carrying nearly 500 passengers sank on April 16, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won offered to resign, holding himself responsible for the government’s poor initial response to the tragic accident.Chung, the Park Geun-hye administration’s first prime minister, said on that day that he did not want to be a burden to the government by keeping his job. Shortly afterward, Park accepted his resignation, but asked him to stay in office until a successor was found. For the las
June 26, 2014
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Ruling allows Lee ally to retain Assembly seat
The Supreme Court overturned the decisions of a Seoul district and appellate court against ruling party lawmaker Chung Doo-un for taking illicit kickbacks and ruled in favor of a retrial on Thursday.Its verdict clarified that “there is no objective evidence which could prove the charges that (Rep. Chung of the Saenuri Party) received illicit slush funds” from the head of a secondary bank.The top court added that the testimony of Lim Suk of the now-defunct Solomon Savings Bank was inconsistent.It
June 26, 2014
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Assembly to hold Sewol hearing Monday
The parliamentary panel investigating the Sewol accident will hold hearings at the National Assembly for government agencies from Monday to July 11, lawmakers said Thursday.Rival parties will call up senior officials from more than 20 agencies including the Security and Public Administration Ministry, the Coast Guard and the Defense Ministry to answer questions about the government’s unsuccessful rescue operations on April 16.Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon will be called in on July 10.
June 26, 2014
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Gov't ministries seek 6 percent budget hike for next year
South Korea's government ministries and agencies have requested a 6 percent hike in their budgets for next year as they want to spend more on welfare, education, and research and development, the finance ministry said Thursday.The ministries and agencies asked for the central government to set aside a combined 377 trillion won ($370.3 billion) for next year, compared with this year' budget of 355.8 trillion won, according to the ministry.The hike is mostly attributed to a 10.8 percent budget inc
June 26, 2014
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Park retains incumbent prime minister
President Park Geun-hye has decided to retain incumbent Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, after a series of nomination debacles that dealt a heavy blow to her leadership.“President Park has turned down Prime Minister Chung Hong-won’s offer to resign and asked him to continue to make commitments as Prime Minister,” said senior press secretary Yoon Doo-hyun. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won. (Yonhap)This is the first time a president has retained a prime minister who offered to resign in the country’s
June 26, 2014
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Park under pressure to overhaul vetting process
President Park Geun-hye has come under pressure to “normalize” her abnormally secretive style of picking candidates for high offices, after Prime Minister-designate Moon Chang-keuk bowed out Tuesday.The latest setback came as critics and the media called for the president to overhaul her nomination process, which has been criticized for keeping to a highly limited pool of candidates and a lack of recommendations outside of the presidential inner circle. The presidential office is reportedly cons
June 25, 2014
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Parties still bicker over former P.M. nominee
Interparty friction sparked by Moon Chang-keuk continues to worsen despite his withdrawal as the prime minister-designate. On Tuesday, Moon withdrew his name saying that doing so would be the best course of action for helping President Park Geun-hye. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy welcomed the decision, saying that the matter had had been settled properly.But the NPAD’s satisfaction was short lived, and the main opposition once again launched an attack on the administrat
June 25, 2014
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South Korea says nuclear programs won’t guarantee N. Korea’s future
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won called on North Korea on Wednesday to cooperate with South Korea and choose the path of coprosperity on the divided Korean Peninsula.“North Korea should clearly recognize that what can guarantee its future is cooperation with us, not its nuclear programs,” Chung said in a ceremony marking the 64th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.He also called on the isolated country to play a responsible role in the international community by abandoning its nu
June 25, 2014
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Energy minister says electricity rate hike inevitable
South Korea's energy minister said Wednesday that the country will have little choice but to raise its electricity rates partly to reflect growing costs, hinting the rate increase will take place next year. Yoon Sang-jick, minister of trade, industry and energy, said there already exists a need to raise electricity rates by about 2 percent due to a rise in the consumption tax on soft coal, set to go into effect on July 1."Once the consumption tax on coal rises, there will be a need to increase e
June 25, 2014
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Second P.M. nominee withdraws
Prime Minister-designate Moon Chang-keuk withdrew his nomination on Tuesday amid mounting criticism over past controversial remarks, striking a heavy blow to President Park Geun-hye and her reform drive pursued in the aftermath of the Sewol disaster.With Moon also withdrawing his nomination, President Park is likely to face another hard choice to ward off criticism of her repeated appointment failures and to find a new reliable figure tasked with restoring the battered image of the government af
June 24, 2014